Steve Blake dealt to Golden State

February 19, 2014

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A slew of injuries ranging from his elbow to his groin, to fractured ribs, to even a bout with chicken pox plagued his time in Los Angeles. But Blake had his moments with the Lakers -- most memorably scoring 19 points in Game 7 of the Lakers' first-round playoff series win over the Denver Nuggets in 2012 and making a game-winning 3-pointer in Houston to beat the Rockets in L.A.'s first game against Dwight Howard after he left the team.

"He was a joy to coach," D'Antoni said. "I think every coach should have an opportunity to coach somebody like that. He was one of the toughest guys that I've ever coached, and he's good. Any team that wants to win, he'll be a nice piece. ... Steve's a good player. He's going to a team where he'll play a lot and they'll love him. ... It's disappointing to everybody [in L.A.], but that's the business of the game."

Blake averaged 9.5 points and career-highs of 7.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds for the Lakers this season, but has appeared in just 27 games (all starts) because of a right elbow injury.

Golden State is counting on the 33-year-old veteran to bolster a bench that has been searching for a proven ball-handler since Jarrett Jack left for Cleveland in free agency last summer. The Warriors acquired Jordan Crawford and Brooks from Boston in a three-team trade on Jan. 15. Golden State sent struggling backup Toney Douglas to Miami in that deal.

Crawford has been, at times, a prolific scorer but is still learning how to be a better distributor and playmaker on a Warriors team that has plenty of shooters. He entered Wednesday averaging 6.3 points and 2.2 assists in his first 13 games with the Warriors after starting for the Celtics while Rajon Rondo was injured.

Brooks appeared in just seven games with the Warriors and never caught on in Mark Jackson's rotation. Bazemore, best known for his animated cheering on Golden State's bench, also struggled in limited action the past two seasons.

Both had split time with the team's NBA Development League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, but should get more of an opportunity with the rebuilding Lakers. Both Bazemore's and Brooks' contracts expire at the end of the season.

Information from ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin and The Associated Press was used in this report.